Elena Municipality (Bulgarian: Община Елена) is a municipality (obshtina) in Veliko Tarnovo Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located on the northern slopes of the central Stara planina mountain in the area of the so-called Fore-Balkan. It is named after its administrative centre, the town of Elena. It includes a territory of 671.39 km2 (259.23 sq mi) with a population of 10,407 inhabitants, as of December 2009.[1]

Elena Municipality
Община Елена
Elena Municipality within Bulgaria and Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Elena Municipality within Bulgaria and Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Coordinates: 42°55′N 25°51′E / 42.917°N 25.850°E / 42.917; 25.850
Country Bulgaria
Province (Oblast)Veliko Tarnovo
Admin. centre (Obshtinski tsentar)Elena
Area
 • Total671.39 km2 (259.23 sq mi)
Population
 (December 2009)[1]
 • Total10,407
 • Density16/km2 (40/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The area is best known for its Bulgarian National Revival atmosphere preserved in its main town. Chumerna peak, 1,536 m (5,039 ft) above sea level, in the Elena-Tvarditsa range is the highest point in the province.

Geography

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Elena Municipality is situated in the Elena Balkan, 215 kilometres (134 mi) West of Varna, 38 km (24 mi) South of Veliko Tarnovo and 280 km (170 mi) East of Bulgaria's capital - Sofia. The city of Elena is situated in the valley of the Elena river. The rivers Veselina, Elena, Miykovska, and Bebrovska spring from the area.

Flora

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The flora and fauna are varied, with the most common trees being beech, oak, maple, linden, and hornbeams. Other trees often found in the area are elm, ash, cherries, pear, and sorrel.

Fauna

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There is a large diversity of animals living in the area. Widespread deer, Red deer, and wild boar are the most common, followed by predators like foxes, jackals and less often wolves. Smaller animals are also quite common - rabbits, partridge, snipe, and doves.[2]

Settlements

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(towns are shown in bold): Population (December 2009)[3][4][5]

Demography

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The following table shows the change of the population during the last four decades.

Elena Municipality
Year 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2007 2009 2011
Population 16,546 14,684 13,581 11,342 10,843 10,621 10,407 ...
Sources: Census 2001,[6] Census 2011,[7] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,[8]

Religion

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According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:

Religious composition of Elena Municipality [9]
Orthodox Christianity
70.2%
Catholicism
0.2%
Protestantism
0.5%
Islam
17.3%
No religion
2.7%
Prefer not to answer, others and indefinable
9.3%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009 Archived November 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Географски особености". elena.acstre.com (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  3. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009 Archived November 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian villages under 1000 inhabitants - December 2009
  5. ^ (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian Settlements 1000-5000 inhabitants - December 2009
  6. ^ National Statistical Institute - Census 2001
  7. ^ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  8. ^ "Population of Bulgarian divisions". Pop-stat.mashke.org. 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  9. ^ "Religious composition of Bulgaria 2011". pop-stat.mashke.org.
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